Would you bring him in to see the doctor

I work, so to bring my baby into the doctor i would need to take off. However, i really don't know if there is anything wrong with him...so i thought i pose it to the experts here.

The past two days Jack has putting his hand to the back of his head behind his ear. Not tugging on the ear or anything...just going for the area behind the ear. This morning he woke up with a red rash on his cheeks...which i think is more because he drools and then sleeps on the drool with his face.

NOw i heard that babies tug on their ears when they have an ear infection. Is this true or is what Jack is doing more common?

Besides being a little fussier then normal, he is sleeping, laughing and playing fine.

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

doesnt sound like you think its a huge problem and he sounds like he is acting fine and not fussing. I wouldnt take him just yet but if symptoms worsen I would go.

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

Ryan tugs at his ears all the time. He has a little eczema so sometimes he is scratching, but other times he's just playing w/them. So for me, I wouldn't look at that as a sign of illness unless he was crying and in pain.

The key for me is sleeping - if they're sleeping fine then I always say it can't be too serious since things seem to get worse at night.

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

It sounds like it might be more of a teething thing. How old is he? Their ears can feel "off" if they are teething and I think it can also cause red cheeks from excessive drool.

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

I wouldn't take him in yet, if he's acting normally - I would think he's fine - ear infections are painful - he would be crying more, or complaining.

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

How old is he? Sounds like teething. Even when Alex is teething she'll tug at her ears. The telltale difference for us for an ear infection is difficulty sleeping, that just gets worse and worse and worse. It gets to the point where I simply can't put her down for a nap, and she'll wake frequently during the night. Take a look inside his mouth - do you see any swollen, red gums?

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

He's almost 5 months. I don't see any teeth coming in yet, but he could be getting there.

He slept fine last night...no crying fits at all. However, the babysitter said he would not sleep for her today adn wants to be held (same thing yesterday) but once i got home, he was fine...ate like a champ, hardly cried and slept for me. And he was laughing up a storm this morning...i doubt he would be like that if it was an ear infection.

The rash kind of threw me off though.

This is my first time and i see most mommies say go with your gut and right now i don't get that gut feeling that something is wrong. Is this true for most of you?

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

Message edited 1/23/2007 1:33:22 PM.

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

watch for a fever, if a fever pops up it can be an ear infection, but even so, my doc only treats if my kids are miserable, otherwise there have been studoes that ear infections tend ot go away on their own, and my son has had about 3 and they in fact went away with no antibiotic

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

i would hold off on the doctors for now. if he develops a fever and starts refusing to drink, then its likely its an ear infection.

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

In my experience it seems like something may be bothering the little bugger!!! And the rash on his cheeks could be a fever rash or something along those lines.. I would take him to the ped just to make sure.... A child that has prolonged ear infections could lead to damage so I always brought my kids in... My younger one had them constantly until I finally had to put tubes in..... This isn't to scare you or anything I would kust be better safe than sorry.

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

I've learned in the past two years to take them in if for one minute I think "should I take them in?" I'm not one to rush to the doc, but I've learned that minor things like ear pulling can mean an ear infection. Last week, Molly (3 months) had a little cold, so I said, heck, that's what I have insurance for. She was acting fine, eating fine and sleeping fine. Turns out she had the start of an ear infection. Granted, I do not work so I have more flexibilty in my day to do this. And it took me two years to realize that when Jack acts all clingy and cranky it means his ears hurt. No other signs, sleeps fine, etc. Same thing...I took him in on a whim and he had a double ear infection recently.

Definately go with your gut, but don't be afraid to go to the doc and have them tell you everything is fine. In my case, it is worth the $15 copay.

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

My DD is nearly a year and she used to put her hands behind her ears when she was younger and there was never anything wrong with her....the only telltale sign she had when was teething was that her cheeks were rosy red ALL the time...

She has red cheeks now with some little bumps on one side but I am putting that down to the heat in the house and the cold outside...its red in the morning and after her nap not consistently red like when she was teething...she was like snow white then

Hope you find the source...its a guessing game most of the time isnt it?

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

i would wait, if he's fine other than that.

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

Thank you all for your replies. I am going to watch him closely and if i see more things that worry me then i am going to take him in to the doctor.

Re: Would you bring him in to see the doctor

Whenever i those words in my head, "should i bring her to the dr", i always call and speak to the dr or nurse just to put my mind at ease, just so i don't bring her in for nothing and have to take the day off.

Can you call PED and run the symptoms by them? They might be able to tell you what to look for, when they want to see DC.